Bill Clinton To Give Eugology At Ali's Funeral

Former USA President Bill Clinton will be among those giving a eulogy for Muhammad Ali at an interfaith service Friday in the boxer's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, the family announced today.


In a speech in California today, Clinton reflected on watching Ali light the Olympic torch in Atlanta while his hands shook from Parkinson's Disease.

"Once the most graceful, powerful athlete in the world, with his hands shaking, holding on, he did his job," Clinton said. "And in the very end he was actually astonishingly good humored about the burden of his later years. So by the time he died, who he was as a person was greater than his legend."

Ali's body will return to Louisville in the next 24 to 48 hours with his family and a private service will be held for immediate family Thursday, family spokesman Bob Gunnell said at a news conference in Phoenix today.

On Friday, the family will be joined by an imam at the funeral home for prayers, Gunnel said.

A procession Friday will lead through the streets of Louisville, traveling down the street named after him and passing through Ali's old neighborhood. The procession will end at Cave Hill cemetery, where he will be laid to rest.

An interfaith service open to the public will be held at the KFC Yum! Center at 2 p.m. Friday, where President Clinton, Billy Crystal and Bryant Gumbel will give eulogies. Sen. Oren Hatch, R-Utah, a Mormon, is expected to speak.

The service will be led by an imam and will include clerics from multiple religions.

"This entire service was his specific request," Gunnell said. "He truly loved all people."

The service will be streamed throughout the world, Gunnell said.

After the memorial service, a private reception for friends and guests is scheduled at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.